Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

The two studied with exceptional diligence, while their teacher's wife patiently guided them, correcting their grip on the scales and the angle at which they observed the scale markers. Occasionally, she would bring out several common medicinal herbs and have them try weighing them, practicing repeatedly until they could barely accurately weigh the herbs before stopping to rest. Before they knew it, darkness had fallen—it was nearing the winter solstice, and night fell exceptionally early. The afterglow outside the window gradually faded, and a faint twilight descended upon the mountains.

The master's wife glanced at the sky and hurried over to her master's side, urging him softly, "Old man, don't delay any longer. It's getting so dark, and the mountain path is difficult and cold. Hurry up and take Xingbao and Guixiang back, lest their families worry." The master was giving instructions on medication precautions to the last patient when he heard this. He nodded and reluctantly replied, "Alright, alright, I'll take them back right away. I finally managed to talk to the children a bit more, and I completely forgot the time."

After seeing off the last patient, Master led Xingbao and Guixiang to the side gate. The black donkey, left behind by their second brother, was obediently tied to the eaves pillar, occasionally wagging its tail. Master carefully lifted the two onto the donkey's back, then gently steadied them, instructing, "Don't move around while sitting up. Hold on tight to the rope. The mountain path is difficult; don't fall off." Xingbao and Guixiang nodded quickly, saying in unison, "Master and Mistress, we understand. You should rest early too; we'll come to see you again another day!"

The master's wife stood at the door, waved, and said with a smile, "Okay, be careful on the road." The master first carried Guixiang onto the donkey's back, then carried Xingbao to sit in front—usually, Guixiang would always clamor to sit in front, but today she was exceptionally well-behaved, sitting quietly behind Xingbao, her little hands tightly gripping the hem of his clothes. Xingbao firmly grasped the donkey's rope, facing the cold wind blowing from the mountains, gently patting the black neck of the donkey, slowly urging it forward. Guixiang leaned on Xingbao's shoulder, occasionally turning back to wave vigorously at the master and mistress at the door, whispering "Goodbye, Master and Mistress," until they reached the smooth stone path after descending the mountain and could no longer see the master and mistress. Only then did Guixiang quickly bury her face in Xingbao's warm back, avoiding the biting cold wind, only her bright black eyes peeking out as she curiously observed the scenery along the roadside. The master and mistress stood at the door, watching the two figures disappear into the distance until they were completely out of sight, before turning back into the house.

Before even entering the store, Xingbao could see his second and eldest brothers helping guests carry their luggage from the carriage into the shop. They seemed to be guests from Sanmin Middle School.

Xingbao quickly patted Heitan's neck, slowed down, and whispered to Guixiang behind him, "Sister, guests from Sanmin Middle School have arrived."

Upon hearing this, Gui Xiang immediately perked up and peeked out from behind Xing Bao, urging, "Xing Bao, tell Hei Tan to hurry up, we can borrow books again!"

Xingbao smiled and agreed, gently patting Heitan's body to urge it to hurry. They soon arrived at the shop entrance. Second Brother, seeing them return, beamed. Without even exchanging pleasantries, he immediately instructed, "Xingbao, go to the backyard first, lock Heitan up, and once he's settled, come and serve tea. Brother Dashan is inside too."

Xingbao quickly responded with an "Oh!" and reached out to help Guixiang sit up straight. Guixiang, who couldn't contain herself any longer, took advantage of the moment when Heitan stopped, nimbly jumped off the donkey's back, and ran into the shop with small, quick steps, afraid that if she was a step too late, she wouldn't be able to borrow the book.

Xingbao led Heitan around to the backyard, tied up the donkey, added some hay, and then hurried into the front hall. He saw many teachers and students from Sanmin Middle School sitting in the kitchen; several of them had slightly flushed faces and coughed occasionally, but thankfully they all seemed to be in good spirits. The eldest brother, seeing Xingbao enter, quietly said, "These guests, though coughing, aren't seriously ill. They've already seen a doctor before coming and brought their prescribed medicine; there's no need to go to the mountains to fetch the master."

Xingbao nodded, his gaze unconsciously falling on the books carried by the teachers and students. Guixiang had already huddled around the teachers, pleading and begging in a soft voice, mimicking her previous actions, tugging at their sleeves and saying nice things. Xingbao quickly joined in to help, and the siblings, using their old tricks, finally managed to borrow quite a few books again. Having learned from his experience of staying up all night copying books and exhausting himself last time, Xingbao didn't dare to be careless this time. He figured there were still several groups of customers to come, so there was no need to rush. He still chose books related to math, physics, and chemistry, carefully flipping through them one by one and silently memorizing them. He wanted to memorize as much as possible, since he already understood the outline; it was just a matter of spending more time.

For three consecutive days, the shop was busy receiving guests from Sanmin Middle School. Xingbao and Guixiang were busy borrowing books and copying them every day. After greeting the guests, the eldest and second eldest brothers would come over to copy books. Fortunately, during the day, Brother Dashan and Sister Shanshan helped manage the shop. The four siblings almost all became "night shift workers," staying up until dawn every day before resting. They would only fall asleep after seeing off the guests, but they were also overjoyed because they could borrow new books and learn new knowledge. Their days were bittersweet.

Today, the restaurant finally didn't receive any guests from Sanmin Middle School, allowing the family to enjoy a peaceful dinner. After dinner, the family sat around the charcoal brazier, and Dad took out paper and pen, counting as he said, "I've written down all the guests we've received these past few days. It seems there are still two or three groups of teachers and students from Sanmin Middle School who haven't arrived yet."

Before he could finish speaking, the second brother frowned and added, "According to the teachers we met yesterday, Nanjing is in complete chaos. They had to go through a lot of trouble to find a few donkey carts and barely managed to escape from the city. The later groups of guests probably won't be able to find any vehicles and will have to walk."

Upon hearing this, the eldest brother's expression also turned serious: "Walking here was not easy at all. The mountain road was difficult to walk on and cold. Not only was it dangerous, but with so many people traveling together, it was easy to get separated. It was really worrying." The family sat together, thinking of the chaos in Nanjing and worrying about the guests who had not yet arrived. Their faces showed worry. The flames in the charcoal brazier crackled, but they could not dispel the gloom in the room.

Xingbao continued, "It's good that they can get out of the city, but finding a car outside the city won't be so easy. I hope they're lucky, otherwise they'll have to go all the way to Ma'anshan to find a car!"

Seeing the somber atmosphere and worried expressions on everyone's faces, Father quickly stood up, smiled, turned around, and took out several neatly folded sheets of paper from the inner room. He raised his hand, announced loudly, "Alright, alright, stop looking so gloomy! I have good news for you siblings: this afternoon, Old Wang delivered the land deed and all the relevant documents!"